SEND Reforms

The Children and Families Act became law in March 2014. The New Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 0 – 25 Years provides statutory guidance on duties, policies and procedures relating to Part 3 of the of the above Act. Its vision is that all children and young people achieve well throughout their educational career and lead happy and fulfilled lives. Children, young people and families should have a much better experience; special educational needs and disabilities should be:

picked up at the earliest point

support routinely put in place quickly

parents/carers will know what services they can reasonably expect to be provided

children and young people and their parents/carers will be fully involved in decisions about their support and what they want to achieve

Importantly, the aspirations for children and young people will be raised through an increased focus on life outcomes, including employment and greater independence. There is new guidance on taking a graduated approach to identifying and supporting students with SEN. This replaces School Action and School Action Plus. For children and young people with more complex needs, a co-ordinated assessment process and the new 0-25 Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) replace statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs). Personal Budgets will give some families the opportunity to commission support. Each education authority will publish a ‘Local Offer’ and each educational setting will publish its own offer detailing what services are available for students with SEND. Click here for the Children and Families Act 2014